On Main Street, Ain’t That Something: Uniques to Antiques lives up to its name. The boutique’s owner combined business and fun for an informative “Tortoise Talk” Aug. 1.
It was not a slow day at the shop, in spite of its special guests. A small crowd gathered to learn more about the tortoises. Marie Kisner said she holds a tortoise talk every year based on the high volume of requests she gets to see the reptiles. The family owns about 20 turtles. A large number of the collection is made up of an assortment of red-footed tortoises and eastern box turtles. Marie Kisner started her passion for turtles in college with red-eared sliders and her collection has since grown tremendously.
The star of the show was Peekaboo — a 200-pound African spurred tortoise, or sulcata. At 20, he is just a few years older than Kisner’s college freshman son. The animal could one day be considered an antique himself — living up to 150 years. The Kisners said Peekaboo recognizes his own name and is about as smart as a two-yearold. Despite all that brain, they said he has far more brawn. Peekaboo can bust through just about any wall or fence put in his way but he decides not to. Instead, he is content to be fed and cared for while living in the safety of an eight-foot hole in the Kisners’ yard.
